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They debated whether to call Ben and decided against it. Bash and Reid assured the others they would take care of the body, and then Reid and Max would clean up and replace the carpet themselves to hide the proof of Aunt June ever being there. The entire time, it felt like they were discussing her like she was nothing more than extra trash that needed to be cleaned up in the mess that was our apartment, like the ruined mattress that was leaning against the wall to be hauled away.
I honestly didn’t want to know how they were going to get rid of her body, any more than I cared about them hiding everything from the sheriff. I wasn’t going to tell anyone a single thing about what had transpired there that day. For one, I wanted to forget all about the nightmare of both Uncle Tony and Aunt June. For another, I didn’t want to chance anyone getting in trouble, especially not Kelli, who had saved me.
Raven and Kelli tugged me away from Max and into the living room. Reluctantly, he allowed me to leave him, telling me for the second time he loved me. Raven suggested we get something sweet to eat to combat the shock of what had happened, and then the three of us would go shopping for all the stuff we needed for the apartment.
Just like that, we were putting what had happened behind us, and truthfully, I was kind of relieved. I didn’t want to think about the evil I had been surrounded with for the past eight years. Now, I only wanted to concentrate on the new family I’d been given thanks to falling for Max Reid.
Epilogue
Max
Four Years Later
I lowered the car I’d just finished changing the oil in and then had one of the prospects who was interning at the garage drive it out of the bay. Walking into the shop, I gave my sister the slip for the customer.
“Unc!” Finn yelled from where he was playing behind the counter. “Is my new baby cousin born yet?”
Lexa, who had her five-month-old daughter, Tali, strapped to her chest in one of those wrap things, shot me an eye roll as she punched in the report on the computer in front of her. The beautiful little replica of my sister was sound asleep with the sound of her mother’s heart as her lullaby. I doubted the baby girl would have even flinched if someone drove their car through the front window. She was a hard sleeper and being cradled against Lexa the way she currently was tended to be her favorite place in the universe.
For the past few months, Finn asked me that same question every time he saw me or his aunt Delaney. And each time, I had to disappoint him by telling him, “Not yet, bud. But soon.”
At least, I hoped so. Delaney was a week past her due date and so miserable that she couldn’t find a comfortable position, no matter what she did. Sitting up. Propped body pillows on either side of her. Being held by me. She was getting cranky because she couldn’t sleep from the discomfort of our son putting pressure on her lower back and other places.
Thankfully, she was at Mom’s today instead of working in the office doing all of our orders and the books. After she’d gotten her GED the summer we’d gotten married, she’d started taking business classes at Trinity and began working at the shop. I’d told her she didn’t ever have to work if she didn’t want to, but she hated sitting around doing nothing. She was stubborn and didn’t want anyone to think she was with me only because of what I could give her.
No one had ever thought that, or if they had, they’d known better than to run their mouth. Not only would they have had me to deal with, but also Mom and Aunt Kelli as well. Plus, every other member of our family, River and Lexa both topping the list of those overly protective of my little treasure.
“I’m taking off,” I informed my sister. “If you need anything, the prospect is shadowing Trigger for the rest of the day.”
Lexa gave me a smile. “Give Delaney a kiss for me. Let me know if anything changes. I promised I would call Tavia as soon as there was activity suggesting Ronan is on his way.”
“She should just wait and fly out at the end of the week when they come to pick up Nova for the summer,” I grumbled.
“You’re just grumpy because you know everyone is going to be gushing over Delaney, and you won’t get any cuddle time with your wife and newborn son.”
I pressed my lips together, because she wasn’t wrong. I knew the second Delaney went into labor, I would be lucky if I got to hold her hand with how all the women in my family had been acting lately. Mom and Kelli were already keeping me away from my treasure for most of the day as it was. When she went into labor, they were both supposed to be in the delivery room with us, and between the two of them, they took over my girl.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like that she was getting pampered by everyone. I loved that they were making her first pregnancy so special for her. But fuck if I didn’t want a few hours alone to just hold my beautiful wife—and, when he arrived, Ronan too.
Picking up my keys, I gave Finn a fist bump before walking out the back door and climbing into the driver’s seat of my SUV. For the last three months, I’d been mostly driving it around rather than my bike so I could take Delaney to and from wherever she needed to go each day. Mom, Kelli, and River were always trying to take her to her doctor’s appointments or shopping for the baby’s room in our new house just a block over from Lexa’s place, but those three had gotten an earful from me. Didn’t they trust me to do any of that stuff? And hey, I wanted to be at all of her prenatal appointments. I got a kick out of hearing Ronan’s heartbeat at each visit.
Not to mention, I had to make sure the fucking doctor prick didn’t linger when he was examining my wife’s cervix or whatever the fuck he was doing when he was down there. The guy was new to the area, had taken over for the local OB-GYN not long after River had her own baby boy, Rocco, and I needed to make sure he understood that Delaney Reid was only a patient and not someone he should even chance taking a second look at if he wanted to spend his life delivering more babies in Creswell Springs.
It wasn’t like I was the only one to make sure the fucker understood that. Hell, Ben had been more than a little vocal when Lexa was pregnant with Tali. Not to mention Lyric when Mila had been pregnant with her second set of twins, Israel and Ireland. The doctor should have gotten the hint by the time Delaney became his patient, but no, the dickhead couldn’t keep his eyes to himself when he had a beautiful woman on his exam table.
But I had to admit he was a really good doctor, and for that alone, I hadn’t put a bullet in his skull.
Pulling up in front of Mom’s house, I saw that Kelli’s car was already in the driveway. It was nothing I didn’t expect. If Delaney was at my parents’ place, then so was Kelli. And if Delaney happened to be at Kelli’s, Mom tended to be over there. It was like they were afraid to be too far away from her in case she went into labor and neither one of them was there.
And as much as I was aggravated that they were both hogging so much of the alone time I wanted with Delaney, I was still thankful they were taking such gentle care of her for me while I was at work.
Exiting the Tahoe, I walked up to the front porch, but before I could turn the knob, it opened. Nova grimaced as she glanced over her shoulder then back to me. “I’m going to warn you now—”
“Fuck,” I muttered, already dreading what was going to come out of my cousin’s mouth.
“She started having contractions about two hours ago. The lights are off and they have her comfortable, but she doesn’t want to go to the hospital yet. Keeps saying she knows how grumpy you will be, and she wants things to be as calm for you as possible.”
I raked my hands through my hair, my heart already thumping heavily against my chest at the thought of my treasure in pain. Of course, her only worry was for me.
